Rafetus swinhoei
Encyclopedia
The Yangtze giant softshell turtle (Rafetus swinhoei) is an extremely rare species
of softshell turtle found in Vietnam
and China
. It is also known as the Red river giant softshell turtle, Shanghai softshell turtle, or Swinhoe's softshell turtle. In Chinese it is known as the specked softshell turtle (Chinese
: 斑鱉; Pinyin
: Bān Bīe). Only four living individuals are known and it is listed as critically endangered
in the IUCN Red List
. It is hoped that a pair at Suzhou Zoo in China will breed. The Hoan Kiem turtle
(Rafetus leloii) is considered a junior synonym of the Yangtze giant softshell turtle.
placed. It measures over 100 centimetres (39.4 in) in length and 70 centimetres (27.6 in) in width and weighs approximately 70 –. The specimen caught from Vietnam weighed over 200 kilograms (440.9 lb). Its carapace
, or shell can grow larger than 50 centimetres (19.7 in) in length and width. Its head can measure over 20 centimetres (7.9 in) in length and 10 centimetres (3.9 in) in width. The male is generally smaller than the female and has a longer, larger tail.
and Lake Taihu, situated on the border of Jiangsu
and Zhejiang
provinces, in eastern China
, and Gejiu, Yuanyang, Jianshui
and Honghe
in Yunnan province in southern China.
The last known specimen caught in the wild in China was in 1998 in the Red River between Yuanyang and Jianshui; it was then released. There are only four known living specimens in Vietnam and China, one each at Hoan Kiem Lake and Son Tay
in Hanoi
, Vietnam
, and two in Suzhou
zoo in China.
A specimen at the Beijing Zoo
died in 2005, and another one at the Shanghai Zoo
died in 2006; both of them were caught at Gejiu in the 1970s.
In 1999, 2000, and 2005 turtles have reemerged from Hoan Kiem Lake on special occasions, when it was seen by a large audience and caught on film. It is believed that there is only a single turtle left in the lake. In April 2011, it was captured because it had open sores that needed to be treated.
, crab
s, snail
s, water hyacinth
, frog
s, and leaves
.
A fertile female from Changsha Zoo was introduced to the only known male in China, a 100 year old individual in Suzhou Zoo, in 2008. The female, who is over 80 years old, was said to settle in well after her 600 mile move and biologists were optimistic for breeding success. The move was coordinated by the Wildlife Conservation Society
and the Turtle Survival Alliance.
, the turtle expert at the British Museum
, described the specimen sent to him from Shanghai
by Robert Swinhoe
. He named the species Oscaria swinhoei, and described it as "the most beautiful species of Trionychidae) that has yet occurred."
In 1880, the Shanghai-based French Jesuit
Pierre Marie Heude
obtained several specimens of this turtle, from the Huangpu River
(near Shanghai) and Lake Taihu (near Suzhou
). He thought them sufficiently different from each other to describe them as five distinct species: Yuen leprosus, Yuen maculatus, Yuen elegans, Yuen viridis, and Yuen pallens. The genus name, Yuen, presumably comes from the Chinese 鼋 (transcribed yüen in the Wade-Giles
system, or yuan in the modern Hanyu Pinyin), which means a large turtle.
Later zoologists classified these turtles as belonging to the Trionyx, Pelodiscus
, and Pelochelys
genera; it was only in 1987 that Meylan categorized this species under the Rafetus genus.
A workshop on the Rafetus Conservation at Yunnan
was held by CI-Shanshui. Local Chinese scientists are searching for the last existent individuals. The two specimens were able to produce two clutches of eggs with over half of them being fertile, though unfortunately all of them perished before hatching. The Turtle Survival Alliance released a statement, saying "A number of the eggs had very thin shells, suggesting that the diet of the animals prior to breeding was not optimal.". The two turtle are now being prepared for another round of mating, while being fed a high calcium diet in an effort to strengthen the eggs. Liu Jinde, the director of the zoo said "We've worked very hard on this, We ought to succeed. The turtles are very healthy."
The scientists began preparing to mate the two once again in May 2009, which fell within this species' breeding season. But in the fall of 2009 the zoo announced that despite laying 188 eggs the eggs were infertile and would not hatch. The Turtle Survival Alliance issued a statement explaining that the infertility was due in part to the turtle's poor diet and the group expressed concern that the zoo's patrons had thrown trash into the turtle's enclosure that, if eaten, could endanger the health of the turtles. On June 15, 2010 the female laid a total number of 63 eggs. Half of the eggs were left in the sand to incubate naturally while the other half were moved incubate at varying levels of temperature and humidity. Once again, they were infertile.
_in_ceramics.jpg)
The specimen located in Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi is thought to be the legendary Kim Qui (Chinese: 金龜; pinyin: Jīn Guī), or Golden Turtle God, who has appeared at opportune moments throughout Vietnamese history. The golden turtle first appeared during the reign of King An Dương Vương
(257-207 BC) and assisted the king in the construction of defenses for the ancient capital of Co Loa. When Co Loa was attacked Kim Qui assisted the king in making a magical cross-bow that massively rained arrows upon the invaders in only a single shot. When the King's daughter conspired against her father Kim Qui emerged again to inform An Duong Vuong of the betrayal; the king consequentially killed his daughter and drowned himself in the sea.
In the 15th century, a peasant named Lê Lợi obtained a magical sword named Heaven's Will
that a fisherman had pulled out of the lake. Lê Lợi used this sword to lead a rebellion against the Chinese armies that were in occupation of Vietnam
. After overthrowing the Chinese rule and establishing Lê Dynasty
, the now emperor Lê Lợi returned to the lake and Kim Qui emerged then asked Lê Lợi to return the sword. The King drew the sword and hurled it toward Kim Qui. Kim Qui quickly caught the sword by his teeth then submerged. Lê Lợi afterwards named the lake 'Lake of Returning Sword', or Hoan Kiem.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of softshell turtle found in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. It is also known as the Red river giant softshell turtle, Shanghai softshell turtle, or Swinhoe's softshell turtle. In Chinese it is known as the specked softshell turtle (Chinese
Simplified Chinese character
Simplified Chinese characters are standardized Chinese characters prescribed in the Xiandai Hanyu Tongyong Zibiao for use in Mainland China. Along with traditional Chinese characters, it is one of many standard character sets of the contemporary Chinese written language...
: 斑鱉; Pinyin
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: Bān Bīe). Only four living individuals are known and it is listed as critically endangered
Critically endangered
Version 2010.3 of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 3744 Critically Endangered species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and subpopulations.Critically Endangered by kingdom:*1993 Animalia*2 Fungi*1745 Plantae*4 Protista-References:...
in the IUCN Red List
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
. It is hoped that a pair at Suzhou Zoo in China will breed. The Hoan Kiem turtle
Hoan Kiem Turtle
The Hoan Kiem turtle is a species of turtle from Southeast Asia. Its status as a distinct species is questionable, with the most recent review strongly suggesting Rafetus leloii is a synonym of Rafetus swinhoei.-Mythology:...
(Rafetus leloii) is considered a junior synonym of the Yangtze giant softshell turtle.
Description
The Yangtze giant softshell turtle is noted for its deep head with pig-like snout and eyes dorsallyDorsum (biology)
In anatomy, the dorsum is the upper side of animals that typically run, fly, or swim in a horizontal position, and the back side of animals that walk upright. In vertebrates the dorsum contains the backbone. The term dorsal refers to anatomical structures that are either situated toward or grow...
placed. It measures over 100 centimetres (39.4 in) in length and 70 centimetres (27.6 in) in width and weighs approximately 70 –. The specimen caught from Vietnam weighed over 200 kilograms (440.9 lb). Its carapace
Carapace
A carapace is a dorsal section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the underside is called the plastron.-Crustaceans:In crustaceans, the...
, or shell can grow larger than 50 centimetres (19.7 in) in length and width. Its head can measure over 20 centimetres (7.9 in) in length and 10 centimetres (3.9 in) in width. The male is generally smaller than the female and has a longer, larger tail.
Distribution
The Yangtze giant softshell turtle has been known to inhabit the Yangtze RiverYangtze River
The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...
and Lake Taihu, situated on the border of Jiangsu
Jiangsu
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...
and Zhejiang
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
provinces, in eastern China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, and Gejiu, Yuanyang, Jianshui
Jianshui
Jianshui County is a city in Honghe prefecture, Yunnan province, China. It was historic center of the province and remains an important transportation crossroad.-Geography:...
and Honghe
Honghe County
Honghe County is located in Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan province, China.-External links:*...
in Yunnan province in southern China.
The last known specimen caught in the wild in China was in 1998 in the Red River between Yuanyang and Jianshui; it was then released. There are only four known living specimens in Vietnam and China, one each at Hoan Kiem Lake and Son Tay
Son Tay
Sơn Tây is an urban district and city in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. It was the capital of Son Tay province before merging with Ha Dong province in 1965...
in Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, and two in Suzhou
Suzhou
Suzhou , previously transliterated as Su-chou, Suchow, and Soochow, is a major city located in the southeast of Jiangsu Province in Eastern China, located adjacent to Shanghai Municipality. The city is situated on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and on the shores of Taihu Lake and is a part...
zoo in China.
A specimen at the Beijing Zoo
Beijing Zoo
The Beijing Zoo is a zoological park in Beijing, China. Located in the Xicheng District, the zoo occupies an area of 89 hectares , including 5.6 hectares of lakes and ponds . It is one of the oldest zoos in China and has one of the largest animal collections in the country...
died in 2005, and another one at the Shanghai Zoo
Shanghai Zoo
Shanghai Zoo is the main zoological garden in the Chinese city of Shanghai.-Current Zoo:After half a century of development the Shanghai Zoo has become one of the best ecological gardens in Shanghai...
died in 2006; both of them were caught at Gejiu in the 1970s.
In 1999, 2000, and 2005 turtles have reemerged from Hoan Kiem Lake on special occasions, when it was seen by a large audience and caught on film. It is believed that there is only a single turtle left in the lake. In April 2011, it was captured because it had open sores that needed to be treated.
Diet
It eats fishFish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
, crab
Crab
True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...
s, snail
Snail
Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...
s, water hyacinth
Water hyacinth
The seven species of water hyacinth comprise the genus Eichhornia. Water hyacinth are a free-floating perennial aquatic plant native to tropical and sub-tropical South America. With broad, thick, glossy, ovate leaves, water hyacinth may rise above the surface of the water as much as 1 meter in...
, frog
Frog
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
s, and leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
.
Reproduction
The Yangtze giant softshell turtle may lay from 60 to more than 100 eggs. It nests at night and during the morning.A fertile female from Changsha Zoo was introduced to the only known male in China, a 100 year old individual in Suzhou Zoo, in 2008. The female, who is over 80 years old, was said to settle in well after her 600 mile move and biologists were optimistic for breeding success. The move was coordinated by the Wildlife Conservation Society
Wildlife Conservation Society
The Wildlife Conservation Society based at the Bronx Zoo was founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological Society and currently manages some of wild places around the world, with over 500 field conservation projects in 60 countries, and 200 scientists on staff...
and the Turtle Survival Alliance.
Scientific description and systematics
The species became known to the Western science in 1873, when John Edward GrayJohn Edward Gray
John Edward Gray, FRS was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray ....
, the turtle expert at the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, described the specimen sent to him from Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
by Robert Swinhoe
Robert Swinhoe
Robert Swinhoe FRS , was an English naturalist who worked as a Consul in Formosa. He discovered many Southeast Asian birds and several, such as Swinhoe's Pheasant, are named after him.-Biography:...
. He named the species Oscaria swinhoei, and described it as "the most beautiful species of Trionychidae) that has yet occurred."
In 1880, the Shanghai-based French Jesuit
Jesuit China missions
The history of the missions of the Jesuits in China is part of the history of relations between China and the Western world. The missionary efforts and other work of the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits, between the 16th and 17th century played a significant role in continuing the transmission of...
Pierre Marie Heude
Pierre Marie Heude
Pierre Marie Heude was a French Jesuit missionary and zoologist.Born at Fougères in the Department of Ille-et-Vilaine, Heude became a Jesuit in 1856 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1867. He went to China in 1868...
obtained several specimens of this turtle, from the Huangpu River
Huangpu River
The Huangpu River is a -long river in China flowing through Shanghai...
(near Shanghai) and Lake Taihu (near Suzhou
Suzhou
Suzhou , previously transliterated as Su-chou, Suchow, and Soochow, is a major city located in the southeast of Jiangsu Province in Eastern China, located adjacent to Shanghai Municipality. The city is situated on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and on the shores of Taihu Lake and is a part...
). He thought them sufficiently different from each other to describe them as five distinct species: Yuen leprosus, Yuen maculatus, Yuen elegans, Yuen viridis, and Yuen pallens. The genus name, Yuen, presumably comes from the Chinese 鼋 (transcribed yüen in the Wade-Giles
Wade-Giles
Wade–Giles , sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a romanization system for the Mandarin Chinese language. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Wade during the mid-19th century , and was given completed form with Herbert Giles' Chinese–English dictionary of 1892.Wade–Giles was the most...
system, or yuan in the modern Hanyu Pinyin), which means a large turtle.
Later zoologists classified these turtles as belonging to the Trionyx, Pelodiscus
Pelodiscus
Pelodiscus is a turtle genus in the family Trionychidae.-Species:* Chinese softshell turtle * Hunan softshell turtle * Lesser Chinese softshell turtle...
, and Pelochelys
Pelochelys
Pelochelys is a genus of turtles of the family Trionychidae.-Species:* New Guinea giant softshell turtle - Pelochelys bibroni* Cantor's giant softshell turtle- Pelochelys cantorii...
genera; it was only in 1987 that Meylan categorized this species under the Rafetus genus.
Key threats
The Yangtze giant softshell turtle is on the brink of extinction due to habitat loss, hunting for subsistence and local consumption, and the use of the carapace and bones in medicine. Skulls are often kept as trophies. A recent plan to build hydropower cascade of 12 dams on the Red River in China may flood all of its habitat and change the ecosystem of lower VietnamVietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
Conservation efforts
Conservation efforts are concentrated on breeding captive turtles in China and searching for live specimens in the wild. An agreement was made to transfer the only known remaining female specimen located at the Changsha Zoo to the Suzhou Zoo to breed with the male specimen there. Also efforts are being made to improve conditions for breeding at both the Suzhou Zoo and Western Temple in Suzhou.A workshop on the Rafetus Conservation at Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
was held by CI-Shanshui. Local Chinese scientists are searching for the last existent individuals. The two specimens were able to produce two clutches of eggs with over half of them being fertile, though unfortunately all of them perished before hatching. The Turtle Survival Alliance released a statement, saying "A number of the eggs had very thin shells, suggesting that the diet of the animals prior to breeding was not optimal.". The two turtle are now being prepared for another round of mating, while being fed a high calcium diet in an effort to strengthen the eggs. Liu Jinde, the director of the zoo said "We've worked very hard on this, We ought to succeed. The turtles are very healthy."
The scientists began preparing to mate the two once again in May 2009, which fell within this species' breeding season. But in the fall of 2009 the zoo announced that despite laying 188 eggs the eggs were infertile and would not hatch. The Turtle Survival Alliance issued a statement explaining that the infertility was due in part to the turtle's poor diet and the group expressed concern that the zoo's patrons had thrown trash into the turtle's enclosure that, if eaten, could endanger the health of the turtles. On June 15, 2010 the female laid a total number of 63 eggs. Half of the eggs were left in the sand to incubate naturally while the other half were moved incubate at varying levels of temperature and humidity. Once again, they were infertile.
The legend of Kim Qui
An Duong Vuong
An Dương Vương is the title of Thục Phán , who ruled over the ancient kingdom of Âu Lạc from 257 to 207 BCE, after defeating the state of Văn Lang and uniting the two tribes Âu Việt and Lạc Việt...
(257-207 BC) and assisted the king in the construction of defenses for the ancient capital of Co Loa. When Co Loa was attacked Kim Qui assisted the king in making a magical cross-bow that massively rained arrows upon the invaders in only a single shot. When the King's daughter conspired against her father Kim Qui emerged again to inform An Duong Vuong of the betrayal; the king consequentially killed his daughter and drowned himself in the sea.
In the 15th century, a peasant named Lê Lợi obtained a magical sword named Heaven's Will
Heaven's Will
Thuận Thiên was the mythical sword of the Vietnamese King Lê Lợi, who liberated Vietnam from Ming occupation after ten years of fighting from 1418 until 1428. Lê Lợi then proclaimed himself king of the newly established Lê Dynasty. According to legend, the sword possessed magical power, which...
that a fisherman had pulled out of the lake. Lê Lợi used this sword to lead a rebellion against the Chinese armies that were in occupation of Vietnam
Fourth Chinese domination (History of Vietnam)
The fourth Chinese domination was a period of the history of Vietnam, from 1407 to 1427 during which the country was ruled by Ming Dynasty administrators.-Sinicizing the country:...
. After overthrowing the Chinese rule and establishing Lê Dynasty
Lê Dynasty
The Later Lê Dynasty , sometimes referred to as the Lê Dynasty was the longest-ruling dynasty of Vietnam, ruling the country from 1428 to 1788, with a brief interruption....
, the now emperor Lê Lợi returned to the lake and Kim Qui emerged then asked Lê Lợi to return the sword. The King drew the sword and hurled it toward Kim Qui. Kim Qui quickly caught the sword by his teeth then submerged. Lê Lợi afterwards named the lake 'Lake of Returning Sword', or Hoan Kiem.
Further reading
- Meylan, P.A. Rafetus swinhoei. in Pritchard, P.C.H., and A. Rhodin eds., The conservation biology of freshwater turtles. IUCN publications.
- Meylan, P. A. and R. G. Webb. 1988. Rafetus swinhoei (Gray) 1873, a valid species of living soft-shelled turtle (family Trionychidae) from China. Journal of Herpetology. 22:118-119.
External links
- China's Turtles, Emblems of a Crisis - The New York Times
- Species: Rafetus swinhoei - Asian Turtle Conservation Network
- Video:The Loneliest Animals - The Last Living Pair of Rafetus Turtles - PBS
- Rafetus swinhoei IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
- In Search of Rafetus swinhoei - Turtle Conservation Vietnam
- It's love or bust for Yangtze turtles - The Observer
- Picture :th:ภาพ:Rafetus thanh hoar.jpg